Michael Caine Season Review

December 24th 2014

2014 saw Michael Caine return to the Motorbase fold once more as the Kent-based squad switched marque to the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. An extended two car entry in the British GT Championship alongside a parallel campaign in the highly competitive Blancpain Endurance Series proved to be a prudent move with Caine and Al Harthy taking two race wins and two podiums during the British GT season with David Bartrum's squad securing the Teams Championship title.

After another successful year as a Motorbase driver under his belt, we catch up with the self-confessed ‘second hand car dealer' from Newmarket to hear the 45 year-olds thoughts on his 2014 season...

MP: Another successful year back in the British GT – and another year in the fight for the overall title. What do you think is the key to Motorbase's success in the championship?MC: The team has had another great year and the 100% commitment from the workshop to the racetrack gives us every chance of winning any championship in any country!

MP: The team yet again showed its metal switching over to the Aston and getting straight back into the title fight in a completely new car, how did you find the change to the Aston from a driver's point of view? How does it compare to the Porsche? MC: Having now driven for Motorbase for many years you know the team will have prepared the car to a standard that gives you confidence as soon as you get in the car. The change from Porsche to Aston wasn't a massive change for me as it drove like a well- built TVR! Everybody loved the Aston from the moment we got it, so that definitely helped!

MP: With the team expanding to a two car operation in the British GT, how useful was that in terms of strategy on and off track/feedback and data etc? MC: Having 2 cars had its good and bad points! Good points were that we could develop the cars a lot quicker but there was always a queue for the kettle!

MP: What were your personal highlights from the season? MC: Looking back we had a great season and I think we all enjoyed competing in the UK and then expanding into Europe. If I could have changed anything it would have been our luck in Blancpain; we didn't get any at all! It just feels like its unfinished business.

MP: You've had two great years partnering with Ahmad now, how has that partnership grow during this time – what would you say is key to a strong and successful driver pairing? MC: Ahmad does an amazing job in and out the car. To keep the enthusiasm of a country like he does is a credit to him and all of the partners involved with The Oman Racing Team. His performance in races has been nothing short of brilliant!

MP: It would be fair to say that the Blancpain campaign didn't go as smoothly as planned or hoped for. What do you feel was the biggest challenge/obstacle to success in this series? MC: Blancpain looked like it was going to be tough on paper as there are some of the best GT teams in the business competing, but we held our own and I think we really showed that we can compete with best! Not that surprising really when Motorbase have won in everything they have entered.

MP: With the new driver grading system in place for the BGT in 2015 – what can we expect to see from Michael Caine in 2015? MC: Not sure what will happen in 2015. I don't feel like I'm ready to retire yet! It would be great to do British GT again as the SRO have done everything they can to stop Ahmad and myself competing in 2015. I'd love to do Blancpain as its unfinished business and I would love to do touring cars again as I love it! I guess I just want to go racing with Motorbase!